Oaks Christian graduate relishes second chance after near fatal water accident

KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR
Blair Holliday, a wide receiver for the Duke University football team, shows the tattoo he got before a nearly fatal jet ski accident in July. The tattoo features Matthew 7:13-14. Holliday suffered a traumatic brain injury but came out of it with stronger faith. Holliday's new tattoo, added after his accident, is on his left shoulder and features Jesus holding someone up who had fallen down.

KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR
Blair Holliday, wide receiver for the Duke University football team, visits a friend's house in the San Fernando Valley after a long recovery from a nearly fatal jet ski accident in July.

Karen Quincy Loberg

CONTRIBUTED Photo/LesLie Holliday
Blair Holliday in a coma three weeks after his nearly fatal jet ski accident July 4.

As the plane made its descent into Los Angeles, Blair Holliday peered out the window and marveled at the illuminated landscape below.

Holliday had celebrated Christmas three days earlier with his Duke football teammates, but this was the gift of a lifetime.

The Oaks Christian School graduate was making his first trip home since suffering a near-fatal head injury in a jet ski accident July 4 in North Carolina.

"It was just a really familiar sight to see all the lights," Holliday said. "It felt really natural to me. It felt like where I belonged."

It was a flight Holliday's parents thought he might never make again after receiving the phone call every parent dreads — the one informing them their son had been in a serious accident.

But after a few touch-and-go weeks in the hospital, Holliday rebounded to make a remarkable recovery and allow his family to ring in the New Year together.

Holliday's mother, Leslie, had been with Blair, 20, since the accident while his father, Rick, and two younger brothers, Chase, 16, and Dallas, 12, remained in Southern California.

"It has been a strain on the family because it totally changed how we work," Rick Holliday said. "We were always together and went to everybody's games to support each other. The brothers have a really, really close relationship so it's been hard for them to be apart. That is what has made these last few days such a blessing."

One of the first things Blair did after arriving home Dec. 28 was get a new tattoo.

The tattoo on his left shoulder features Jesus holding someone up who had fallen down.

"It was the first image that came to my mind," Holliday said. "I felt I was helped up by God for a reason and that's why I'm still here today. My belief in God is a lot stronger than it was before the accident. He saved me, and I pray to him every night and every morning."

Holliday doesn't remember much about that day at Lake Tillery other than what people have told him.

Holliday and his Duke teammate Jamison Crowder collided while they were riding Jet Skis. Holliday suffered a traumatic brain injury and was not expected to survive.

But Holliday's parents believe a fortuitous chain of events helped keep their son alive.

A nursing student named Chelsea Gibbons happened to be at the lake and performed CPR until the paramedics arrived.

Holliday was supposed to be flown to a hospital in Charlotte, but a storm forced the helicopter to be redirected to a University of North Carolina hospital.

After 13 days in the hospital, Holliday developed pneumonia and his mother began calling relatives to come say their goodbyes.

But he recovered and was eventually transferred to The Shepherd Center, a brain injury rehabilitation facility in Atlanta.

From there, Holliday improved rapidly — both physically and mentally — to the amazement of many.

"I think that God gave Blair the opportunity for another chance by placing him at these facilities," Leslie Holliday said. "I think that UNC Hospital saved Blair's life and I believe The Shepherd Center gave it back to him."

Holliday was a star athlete at Oaks Christian, leading the Lions to multiple league titles and CIF-Southern Section championship game appearances in football and basketball.

After appearing in 10 games as a freshman at Duke, Holliday was slated to start at wide receiver for the Blue Devils before the accident altered his route.

But Holliday has used football to fuel his recovery. He has started lifting weights and running, and hopes to be cleared to resume contact in a few months.

"My goal is to get back and play again," Holliday said. "That is pretty much all I have been thinking about to get me to where I am today. Playing sports is what I have missed most."

Holliday's father realizes people may question why his son wants to return to a sport where head injuries and concussions have become a hot topic of debate.

"I know there is risk involved and he understands that, but I have no fear he can compete at a very high level," Rick Holliday said. "I just want him to have the opportunity to experience college life the way he chose and get on the field and perform. This whole ordeal really just gives you even more hope and faith that he can get back."

If he can't return to the field as a player, Holliday has another option in mind.

"The coaches have invited me to help coach the wide receivers," Holliday said. "I would probably do that because I don't want to just get rid of football completely in my life."

But Holliday's return to Duke is in limbo right now.

He reapplied for admission this semester, but was denied last week. Before the accident, Holliday was a psychology major with a 3.75 grade-point average.

"He was really disappointed. He tried to not get out of bed, but I made him," Leslie Holliday said. "He wanted to get back into school and get back to a normal life around his friends. His doctor at Shepherd Center was 100 percent behind him doing it, but I think Duke maybe feels it is looking out for his best interest, too, to make sure when he does come back he succeeds."When asked about the denial, Duke officials said federal privacy laws prohibit them from discussing the situation.

The support they have received throughout his recovery has overwhelmed the family.

Two members of the Duke women's volleyball team — Jeme Obeime and Maggie Deichmeister — spent hours by Holliday's hospital bed stroking his hands and talking to him to keep the pressure inside his skull down.

Holliday's roommate, David Helton, read pages from "The Great Gatsby" because he remembered Holliday saying he liked the book.

Carolina Panthers backup quarterback Jimmy Clausen, an Oaks Christian graduate, visited Holliday in the hospital and provided his family with tickets to a Panthers game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Even Holliday's Simi Valley Vikings youth football coach Mike Dobbs made an unannounced visit to the hospital.

"That was the first time I cried," Leslie Holliday said. "He was just standing in the doorway with his long beard, and I couldn't believe he came all that way. There were just so many people who cared so much about Blair, too many to even list."

Although athletes are advised not to select a school based on the coaching staff, the Hollidays are glad it was a major factor in their son's decision.

Duke head coach David Cutcliffe and wide receivers coach Matt Lubick have remained invested in every step of Holliday's recovery.

Cutcliffe and his wife, Karen, came to the hospital daily to read books to Blair, and Cutcliffe made sure Blair stayed involved with the team once he started his rehabilitation.

"I learned a long time ago that picking a coach is like picking a husband, so Coach Cut is my football husband," Leslie Holliday said with a laugh. "They have stood behind everything they said they would do when they first started recruiting Blair. It's truly like a family."

Last Sunday, Leslie and Blair were able to meet Tracy Ross, who spearheaded a local fundraising effort for the family.

She established a fund on the website GiveForward that raised $23,054.09 to help with Blair's medical bills and the family's travel expenses.

The fund received NCAA approval, which ensures Holliday retains his remaining three years of athletic eligibility.

"Tracy was our angel," Leslie Holliday said during a dinner at Ross' house in Bell Canyon. "She has been our guiding force helping us get everything we needed and giving us advice."

Ross shrugged off the praise, hoping a parent would do the same for her if the roles were reversed.

"It's truly amazing just to see Blair," Ross said. "I can't believe how far he has come. I would never have expected him to walk into my house like a normal person."

Holliday celebrated his 20th birthday last month, and reached a milestone in his recovery by completing his driving evaluation with a perfect score.

If Holliday can't takes classes at Duke this semester, he may try to get a job locally and help coach his brothers in basketball.

That he has so many options brings a smile to his mother's face.

"I have a friend who reminded me that when the accident first happened I told her that if I lose him I will die," Leslie Holliday said. "So when I think about what that was like and then seeing him now, I truly believe in miracles."